Since its inaugural season, no team in USL League One had advanced past the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. Union Omaha didn’t become the first, only because South Georgia Tormenta didn’t need extra time to defeat Birmingham Legion. Union Omaha will gladly take becoming the second, and also will gladly take being the first USL League One team since the start of the league to beat an MLS team in the U.S. Open Cup. Union Omaha did in fact make history with their 2-2 draw against Chicago Fire, and their 5-4 win in the resulting penalty shootout advances them to the Round of 32.
This match was far from the defensive slugfest most fans were expecting: the two teams combined for 37 shots, with each managing six on target. Though Chicago scored twice, both goals did come from the spot, extending their goalless drought from the run of play 398 minutes by the time the final whistle was blown. In contrast, Union Omaha did in fact score from the run of play; twice, in fact. Noe Meza scored the first professional goal of his career with a hammer of a shot on a half volley, and Alex Touche scored his first goal with the club, a loose ball in the box that he tucked away into the right side of the net a little more than ten minutes after coming on for Gabriel Claudio, and only a minute before the final whistle.
The start of the match was a positive one for Union Omaha; Chicago’s defensive line was a mix of experience, from a reserve player making his first team debut to a center back that spent his most recent three and a half years at FC Köln, but Omaha had a few really good chances in the first fifteen minutes. Attacking efforts seemed to be met with a little bit of bad luck, either catching the final attacking player on the wrong foot, or with his weight shifted to the wrong side, or looking for that final ball a second too late to finish the attack. After about the 15:00 mark, Chicago seemed to settle down, and dictated the pace until the halftime whistle, albeit to a 0-0 result.
The second half kicked off looking similar to how the first half ended, all the way through Rafael Czichos slotting home a goal from the spot provided to him by a foul in the box on Eddie Gordon. Less than ten minutes later, Dion Acoff and Meza subbed on for Union Omaha, and the game took a noticeable turn in their favor. Besides Meza’s obviously beautiful finish of an equalizer, both he and Acoff were obviously trouble for Chicago’s tiring defense. Acoff was finding space close to the endline with ease, and he seemed to always put the ball in a more favorable position than it was in when he received it, in the most important moments.
Just before full-time, Chicago decided they wanted to go deeper in the well than they intended. Stanislav Ivanov (7 MLS starts, 1 goal this season), Kacper Przybyłko (7 MLS starts, 2 goals this season) and Federico Navarro (3 MLS starts, 3 MLS sub ons this season) spelled some of the match’s starters to try and hammer home the remaining 30 minutes. However, the three of them managed only one shot between them. In fact, both teams each had five shots after those substitutions. The only one of those that Chicago managed to put on frame was Czichos’ second penalty, while Omaha managed to put four of their five shots on frame, with the last one of course being Touche’s dagger at the death.
If you didn’t admire Union Omaha’s resiliency during the final 60 minutes of this match, you couldn’t ignore it during the penalty shootout. A big moment for any lower division team trying to knock out a giant; a moment where your opponent is no longer the opposing team. Instead, the opponent is yourself, and your own thoughts. Chicago won the opportunity to pressure Omaha first, but Przybyłko found the crossbar [Editor’s note: what a coup for Jay Mims’ to sign Wood Work this offseason] (with a little backspin, causing Rashid Nuhu to pay attention for too long) with the opener, immediately giving away the advantage. Fire goalkeeper Spencer Richey saved Meza’s attempt in the third round, giving the Fire the leadoff advantage once again, but Daltyn Knutson and Giovanni Montesdeoca were up to the challenge of matching their counterparts on the other side. Nuhu’s save of Miguel Navarro in the sixth round put Omaha on the brink, and Acoff icily quieted the crowd (at his own suggestion, it would appear) to stamp Omaha’s ticket to the Round of 32.
As a fan, I think it’s obvious what one word comes closest to describing my feeling following this game, and that word is ‘pride’. I almost always feel proud of this team that I follow, but damn did those guys leave it all on the field that night until the very end. We honestly could not have asked for a better performance, roughly 72 hours after a tough draw at Tormenta. Now, we have a huge opportunity to further advance in this tournament with a home match against fellow League One side Northern Colorado Hailstorm. I’ll be back soon to preview that matchup, as we all wait to see if we can make it three down with four to go.
Who Gives A Hoot? 